Dazzling of a Different Kind
by Bexxii Cullen
Summary: After Edward left, Bella was broken. Now, a year later, Bella runs into the last person she expected; Jasper. He and Alice have had a fallout, and he's come for her. Romance flares for the two unlikely people, but what happens when Edward comes back?
1. Chapter 1: Return

_**DISCLAIMER: Ok, so this is my first 'fan fiction'. I'm not sure whether it's good or not, so I'd appreciate some reviews! Anyway, sorry about the lyrics at the start. I was just planning on putting the end of the song, 'My Immortal' by Evanescence, but I thought I should put the whole thing. It's my favorite song and it also suits the pain that Bella feels. I know there are a lot of differences, like the singing thing and everything, but I thought it would be fun. Just to clear up, Bella has moved to a new place where she met Stacy, Mary and Natalie, but she's also a vampire now. It will all be explained in the next chapter! Alright, I guess I should stop rambling now. Oh, by the way, I just have to rub it in a little: I SMELL LIKE BELLA SWAN! Did any Twilight fans hear of the new Twilight fragrance by HotTopic or something? Well, it was made to smell how Bella smells to Edward. Anyway, there was this big thing about how it's a rip-off of Nina Ricci's perfume 'Nina'. So today I went out and bought 'Nina', and now I smell like Bella! Yay! I hate to say bad stuff about Twilight, but really, the people who made the Twilight perfume are IDIOTS! Even the packaging is the exact same, in the shape of an apple! Ok, I'll shut up now. Hope you like the story! Oh, and I don't own Twilight! You know the drill! It belongs to the immortal genius that is Stephenie Meyer! Forever in your debt for bringing Twilight to the world, Ms Meyer!**_

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_I'm so tired of being here,_

_Suppressed by all my,_

_Childish fears,_

_And if you have to leave,_

_I wish that you would just leave,_

_Cos your presence still lingers here,_

_And it won't leave me alone,_

_These wounds won't seem to heal,_

_This pain is just to real,_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase,_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_I held your hand through all of these years,_

_And you still have,_

_All of me,_

_You used to captivate me,_

_By your resonating light,_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind,_

_Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams,_

_Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me,_

_These wounds won't seem to heal,_

_This pain is just too real,_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase,_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_I held your hand through all of these years,_

_And you still have,_

_All of me,_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that your gone,_

_But though you're still with me,_

_I've been alone all along_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_I held your hand through all of these years,_

_And you still have,_

_All of me…_

My voice cracked on the last word and a single tear fell down my cheek. The crowd didn't notice, they cheered wildly for me. I smiled weakly and scanned the crowd once, before stepping off-stage. Stacy and Mary bounded up to me, encasing me in tight hugs.

"Wow!" shouted Mary, over the din of the crowd, "Your voice never ceases to amaze me,"

"Yeah," agreed Stacy, "That's such a great song for you. You do _Evanescence _so well!"

I grinned with faux cheerfulness, but I was saved from replying by my best friend.

"Nice work, Bella," Natalie said with a small smile, "That was really beautiful,"

We exchanged knowing glances. Natalie was the only one I'd told about Edward Cullen. She was the only one who knew the real meaning behind tonight's song choice. Normally I'd pick an upbeat, meaningless pop song for the crowd, but tonight was special. And painful. Tonight marked to anniversary of his leave. And tonight I wanted to pay tribute to him.

I'd already forgiven Edward for leaving me. I was angry at first, when he'd walked away without explaining. Without giving me the chance to win him back. But now I respected that he didn't love me, and he wanted to move on. I had nothing but good feelings toward him. Of course I was still in love with him. I would never stop loving Edward. Enough to make me cry every night, as I did. But I knew that he was happy. And that was what mattered.

The din of the crowd died down as the next entertainer started his act. Normally I'd watch Mark's comedy show, he was usually quite funny, but tonight I didn't want to laugh. I wanted to weep. Stacy and Mary said something about going to get drinks, and disappeared into the crowd. Once they were gone, Natalie pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm proud of you, Bella. You were very strong tonight," she said.

I smiled as she released me, "It was hard to do but I think he deserved it,"

Natalie rolled her eyes. She was very good with dealing with my grief, but she didn't understand how I could forgive Edward so easily, let alone think I owed him anything. She had seen me through my worst mourning phase. She knew what he had done to me. She hadn't forgiven him yet.

"Bella!" a voice I knew only too well called.

I turned to John, my boss and he hugged me briefly, "Great show tonight. My Immortal by Evanescence. A surprising song choice, but very moving. Listen, we don't need you in tomorrow, we've got a _successful _singer coming in,"

I laughed at his use of the word successful. He always resented that I didn't get a record deal, but I wasn't looking for any of that. I was happy with my nightly song at the youth club. It never got in the way of school, it paid well, and it was friendly. What more could I want?

"Alright. I might actually go to a _successful _joint," I shot back with a playful wink.

He chuckled, "It's a slow night, what can I say?"

I rolled my eyes and turned away, and ran straight into a large somebody with ice-cold skin.

I looked up into his bright gold eyes and gasped. His face was as handsome and chiselled as I remembered, and his scent felt good to breath in again. His pale skin looked somewhat spooky as the disco lights danced over it. He wore a simple, light blue button-down shirt and dark jeans, but still managed to look amazing. A pair of very attractive girls were eying him and making provocative gestures at him; he was obviously the most good-looking guy in the club. But he payed no attention to them, his eyes locked on mine with an expression that was a mixture of sadness and pain.

"You're still hurting, aren't you?"

His tone was sad. I couldn't understand why, until I realised that he must have heard my song. He must've known the reasoning behind it. I nodded sadly. Natalie was frowning, her bright emerald eyes darting from me to him like she was watching a particularly fast game of tennis. He noticed her too, and smiled a polite, gracious smile. She looked out of breath.

"Natalie," I said with a grin, "This is Jasper Hale,"


	2. Chapter 2: Jasper's Story

**_DISCLAIMER: Again, I don't own Twilight or anything. I hope you're enjoyinh my story, and reviews are always greatly appreciated. I need some constructive critisism! I'm not going to do that whole 'ten reviews to get an update' thing, because I enjoy writing this story so much. Alright, enjoy newest installment and stay tuned for the next chapter!_**

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Natalie's eyes widened and threatened to pop out of their sockets. I'd told her about all of the Cullens. I hadn't, of course, revealed their secret. I didn't think she'd be able to handle it if I'd told her my ex-boyfriend and his adoptive family were actually immortal vampires, all whom had lived nearly a century, some even over. But she did know who Jasper was. It took a moment for her to get a grip, and then she smiled brightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. She shot me an ecstatic glance.

I smiled. Only Natalie could be so happy to meet a Cullen and have it not be because she wanted to climb in bed with him. I knew she was happy because Jasper being here would make me happy.

"Jasper, what are you doing here?"

I'd led Jasper out of the youth club and we were now sitting on a small bench outside. I was relieved to get out of the noise and talk to Jasper one on one without the threat of being heard.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Jasper said with an ashamed frown, "I wouldn't have come if it weren't for… recent events. I know my being here must cause you pain,"

I laughed lightly, "Jazz, cut the formalities. You don't have to apologize. Sure, it hurts, but it's better knowing that I can finally get some news about my family,"

He winced slightly at the word 'family'. I sighed. He was still feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry," I said in a defeated tone.

He looked up, "No, it's alright. I'm the one who should be sorry,"

I grabbed his arm and shook my head fiercely, "No! No, you shouldn't! None of this was ever your fault! Don't ever think that,"

He looked slightly surprised at my outburst, but the his eyes were sad again, "You wouldn't say that if you knew what I did,"

I frowned, "Well," I said slowly, "Why don't you explain it to me and I'll decide that for myself,"

He sighed, "Alright, well it all began when we left…"

"Alice was really upset. We all were. But, besides from Edward, Alice took it the hardest. She wasn't the same, vibrant, exciting girl I'd met so many years ago. I guessed it was just because she missed you, but it was deeper than that. Something was going on. She kept mysteriously disappearing, and one day I followed her. I know it was cowardly of me, I should have just asked her, but I had a feeling that she wouldn't tell me if I did. Turns out she was meeting with a smaller coven who was passing through. And she and one of the males were… close. I thought nothing of it until she hugged him hello. Something about that hug… I don't know what it was, but I was sure she'd never hugged me like that,"

My heart was constricting in sympathy for the Cullen I'd thought liked me the least. His voice was heavy with sadness. I tried to imagine watching Edward in the arms of another, and it hurt. Bad. I shook my head to rid myself of the horrible image, and spoke.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry," was all I could choke out, "What did you do?"

He smiled weakly at me, "It's alright. I sort of guessed that she would leave me sometime. When we first met I tasted her emotions when she was with me, and found nothing but love, but now it's very weak, clouded with doubt,"

I had to bite back tears at this point. He was so heartbroken, it was evident from just listening to his voice.

"I didn't confront them. I wanted her to be happy. If this guy made her happy, then I wouldn't interfere. But I knew I could stomach watching them get closer. Just the sight of his arms around her was painful. I went back to the house. Everyone could tell I was broken, but I didn't answer their questions until I was packed to leave. I didn't want them to give me reasons to stay. I was at the door when they demanded answers. So, I told them what I saw and about Alice's doubts of our relationship. They were all very sympathetic. I asked Edward if he'd heard the doubts in her mind, and he said he had. But she'd made him swear not to tell me. Apparently, her excuse was that they were just hiccups, and we were working through them. That was a bit painful to stomach. They all said that they were sorry, but they pleaded with me not to leave. I told them I couldn't. Rosalie got… well, how Rosalie always gets when she doesn't get her way, and it was soon an argument. I won't bore you with the things we argued about, it got a bit weird and nobody knew whose side they were on. We were just throwing things that had been resolved long ago at each other. Carlisle and Esme tried to calm us but it had gotten too serious. Anyway, you came up somewhere and, though you probably don't want to hear it, everyone started ganging up on Edward. He'd copped a fair bit for doing what he did. We all thought that you were perfectly capable with a family of vampires, and that you were tough enough to deal with us, especially considering the whole James incident. I think it was the worst fight we've ever had. Edward was about to rip my head off near the end. I'm sorry, Bella, that we never had much of a chance to know each other. You must know that I never disliked you. In fact, it was the complete opposite. I'm always grateful for what you did for Edward. Anyway, I stood up for you. I'd known from the start how our leave would effect you. And it hurt. Near the end it was just Edward and I in the fight. We… uh, got a bit territorial of you, and things got very serious. I'll leave out the details, but long story short, we demolished the living room. Don't worry, nobody got hurt, well unless you count Esme when we broke her antique coffee table. She got pretty angry at that. After we were done, I left,"

I was speechless. I sat in silence mulling over everything I'd heard. Jasper didn't actually hate me? Edward was still territorial, even though he didn't love me? I felt a twang of sympathy for Esme. She loved her antiques. I couldn't figure what to say. It was all a bit overwhelming. Finally, when I could manage words I voiced the most urgent question.

"Jasper," I said carefully, but forcefully, "Edward doesn't love me anymore. He doesn't want me. Why would he get territorial of me?"

Jasper's reaction was the last thing I'd expected. His eyes flashed angrily and he jumped to his feet, an angry growl breaking through his clenched teeth.

"Is that what he told you?" he cried angrily, "That he didn't want you? What, did he think you'd take it better that way? Of course he still loves you, Bella! He left to protect you!"

The holes that I felt in my heart when Edward first left were ripped open again, harder and wider than before. He loved me?

"W-what?" was all I could stammer.

Jasper sat back down and placed a strong, cold arm around my shoulders, "Bella, Edward never stopped loving you. It broke him in half to leave you, but he did what he thought was best,"

I collapsed into tears after that. Loud, ripping sobs tore through my throat and echoed into the night. My eyes felt like they were going to go dry after a few seconds of my sobbing. I couldn't stop the furious streams that ran down my face.

"Bella, I-" Jasper began, but was cut off by another voice.

"I think you've done enough," Natalie said in a voice that was unlike her usual, quiet and shy tone. She sounded furious and I couldn't help but feel a little frightened. She walked over and grabbed my hand, gently helping me stand up.

"Excuse me," Jasper said in a polite tone, "But I wasn't done,"

She narrowed her emerald eyes at him and flicked her long black hair, "Oh I think you are,"

I giggled slightly in between sobs, "No, Natalie, I need to talk to Jasper,"

She looked outraged, and maybe even a little betrayed, but I had to talk to Jasper.

"Alright," she said, shooting one last fiery glance at Jasper, "I'll come by later,"

I nodded and watched her retreat back into the youth club, before collapsing back on the bench. My sobs had slowed and I was now just crying a little. But it still hurt. Jasper didn't say anything until I'd stopped sniffing, then he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said sincerely, "I didn't mean to upset you,"

I shook my head, "No, don't worry. It's just a lot to process, that's all,"

Once he was satisfied that I wasn't about to break again, he said in a accusatory tone, "Now, you have some explaining of your own to do,"

I looked at him curiously and he rolled his eyes.

"Don't play innocent," he said, "You're a vampire,"


End file.
